Study Buddies
by Philomena Rose
Summary: Set a few years after the events of the musical, Logainne is busy training for the National Spelling Bee, and Leaf decides to help her by taking her on a study date she won't soon forget. Logainne's POV. Some L/L, but anything more than friendship is mostly just implied.
1. At the 31st Annual

The shrill _ding! _of the bell pierced the air. I stepped up to the microphone and lowered it – despite being fourteen, I was still shorter than most of the other competitors. "If Miss Schwartzandgrubienerre spells this word correctly, she will become our next spelling bee champion."

The pressure was on. This was my last chance – ever – to win the spelling bee...to get the opportunity to compete in Washington, D.C. I have to win this spelling bee. I have to spell this word right, no matter what it is. I have to make my dads proud.

"Miss Schwartzandgrubienerre, your word is 'vug.'"

_You've got to be kidding me_, I think, having a flashback to my first attempt at the 25th Annual Spelling Bee. Now I really can't spell this word wrong. Making it all the way to the final round only to lose because of the same word you lost on six years ago? I'd never live that down! _Okay, Logainne... breathe in, breathe out. Don't over-complicate this_, I tell myself as I shakily scrawl the word in blue ink across my forearm. "Vug. V-U-G. Vug," I spell, wishing I were as confident as I sound.

"We have a winner!"

I could hardly comprehend what was going on until I found myself being embraced by my fathers as I was handed the trophy. "Thank you," I barely squeaked out.

The audience applauded loudly. Suddenly, over the clapping, I hear somebody cheer out, "Way to go, Schwartzy!" I look out into the audience and see a familiar boy with messy red hair, freckles, and a cape grinning ear to ear.

"Leaf!" I exclaimed, handing the trophy to Carl Dad before running to go greet Leaf. Though we had kept in touch through letters and e-mails for the past few years, this would be the first time we've seen each other since we were preteens.

We met in the aisle, and he scooped me up into a giant hug, spinning me around. "Oh, Schwartzy, I've missed you so much!" he half-shouted as he set me back down on the ground.

"I missed you too, Leaf," I said softly, gazing up into his hazel eyes. At least, I tried to look him in the eyes – it was rather difficult, though, as he was fidgeting too much. "So, how's school been going for you?" I asked, remembering that he mentioned his transfer to public school for junior and senior year in our most recent correspondence.

"Well, it sure is different from homeschooling. They don't even have a Frisbee team! And the classes are pretty hard," he answered.

"Well, if you want any homework help or tutoring, I'm your gal," I responded with a smile.

"And if you need help studying for Nationals, just ask."

"Thanks." Maybe Leaf wasn't the brightest person I knew, but he had nearly flawless spelling. "So, do you think we could do a study date this Saturday afternoon?"

"Sounds awesome."


	2. Chapter 2

It seemed like a normal Saturday until that afternoon. I was busy doing some last-minute spelling drills before the study date when I heard a knock on the door. I rushed to get the door and was met with Leaf standing on the porch with his bicycle at his side. "Hi, Schwartzy," he said, handing me a helmet before digging out some elbow pads and knee pads for me from the basket. "Are you ready?"

"Sure," I responded uneasily as I put on the helmet and pads, "but how are we both going fit on the bike?" It seemed incredibly dangerous. In fact, if it was anybody else, I would have said "no" without so much as a second thought. Even with Leaf, I probably wouldn't have tried this a few years ago, knowing that he would probably end up getting distracted by a squirrel or butterfly and crash into a tree or something, but he seems to have mellowed out a bit since then.

"I'm not sure. I didn't really think this through..." he admitted, before cheerfully adding, "but we have to try something!" So we did. Our first attempt was the classic "perched-on-the-handlebars" pose, however, we soon found out that every kids' show depicting this had lied horribly. Despite keeping my feet comfortably secure in the basket, I still felt like I was about to fall off at any second, and my weight on the handlebars made it much harder for him to steer the bike. After several attempts at fitting both of us on the saddle of the bike, we ended up with me on the seat with him standing on the pedals and leaning over me to steer. It was very uncomfortable, but it was probably the closest thing to a safe solution that we could find.

As he started to pedal down the concrete sidewalk, he started discussing how successful he had been with his cat capes business. "Even the whole cheer squad wanted me to make one for our mascot," he said proudly.

"Wow, that's amazing!" I looked up at the sidewalk. "Um, Leaf, the library is that way," I point out, seeing that he must have made a wrong turn.

"I know," he said calmly. "We're not going to the library."

"Then where are we-"

"You'll see."

I didn't like the sound of that, but I said nothing. Instead, I just kept my eyes intently focused on the sidewalk ahead, trying to guess what Leaf could have possibly chosen as our destination. It was a nearly impossible task with his unpredictability, but I tried. All hopes of guessing, however, were soon dismissed as a lost cause when he turned onto an unfamiliar dirt road hiking trail.

"We're almost there," he assured me, shortly before pulling over to a clearing on the side of the path.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm alive! Sorry about that unexpected hiatus. School stuff, y'know. Anyway it is summer vacation and I have the time to finish stuff and start writing more stuff. And I'm also sorry if you happened to accidentally read it when I posted the wrong "Chapter 3" (Bones and Putnam County Spelling Bee? Two totally different things. XP) Sorry again for everything. Enjoy!  
**

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I looked around at our surroundings. There were a few small picnic tables in a grassy area encircled by trees. Leaf slowly got off the bike and helped me off. I unhooked the latch to my helmet and took it off.

"The Great Outdoors," he announced, doing a dramatic hand gesture as if presenting the forest to me. I uneasily grinned. "The Great Outdoors" and I had never really had a great relationship. I think it all started when I was younger and was attacked by my uncle's cat Snowball.

"So, we'll be studying out here?" I asked, placing my copy of _10,000 Words to Make You Sound Smart_ on a table. I flipped it open to a random page.

"Not yet," he answered, slowly closing the book before taking a seat next to me. "You're never going to win this spelling bee if you're all tense like that."

"Really?" I asked, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"You need to just relax a little."

I felt a little skeptical, but still said, "Okay." I slowly went into the lotus pose on the bench of the table.

"No, none of that yoga. Close your eyes, listen to the birds," he suggested. "Just pure relaxation."

I nodded softly and tried to follow his advice. It was actually fairly soothing. I could hear nothing but our breathing and the sounds of wild animals. The distinctive chirp of a nearby cricket caught my attention followed shortly by a cheerful bird call. "Wow," I half-whispered.

"Isn't it amazing?" he whispered back.

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We stayed there in the clearing in the woods for a few more hours, chatting in hushed tones so as to not disturb the wildlife. It wasn't any particularly deep intellectual conversations, nor were they probably what most other kids our age usually talked about, but it was a nice moment of bonding between us. I almost didn't mind the fact that by the time he brought me back to my house, he hadn't even called out a single word for me.


	4. Chapter 4

It was the morning of the day that we were leaving for Washington, D.C. I had all my bags packed and had gone over my dads' checklist several times, but it still seemed like I was missing something._ It's probably just a little stage fright, _I told myself._ Nothing but a little pre-spelling bee jitters._ Nonetheless, the small nagging feeling lingered in my mind as I paced across the living room carpet.

The doorbell rang loudly. "I've got it!" I called out, wondering, _Who would be showing up here right now?_

I slowly opened the door to see a familiar boy standing on my porch yet again. "Hey, Leaf!" I greeted excitedly.

He beamed as he responded, "Hello again, Schwartzy."

"So, what's up? Did you come to whisk me away on another adventure?" I joked.

He seemed a little confused by my comment. "No, you're going to Washington, right?"

"Yeah." I paused for a second. "So, what brings you over here again?"

He reached over into the basket of his bicycle and retrieved a fairly large book. _10,000 Words to Make You Sound Smart._ "You left this the other day." He handed it to me.

"Oh!" _How could I have forgotten that?_ "Thank you."

"And also I wanted to wish you good luck."

_How sweet!_ "Thanks!" I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. Before pulling away, he planted a small kiss on my cheek. I could feel myself blushing as he smiled at me.

"Remember what I told you, okay?"

"Got it," I responded with a grin. "And thanks again." It's funny how a guy who claimed to be "not that smart" was perhaps the best person for the job of helping me prepare for this spelling bee.

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**A/N: I hope you guys liked it, and I apologize again for the hiatus in between chapters 2 and 3.**


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